Sunday, August 1, 2010

Rondane

Just spent four really nice days hiking with my brother in Rondane National Park, one of the many protected mountainous areas in Norway. The original plan was to spend 6 days there with 1-2 days staying in huts, and the rest in my tent. We ended up ending the trip after 4 days because of various reasons, but still had a great time taking in the great views.

Anders arrived in Oslo a couple of days early so we had time to get the food sorted, and to do other errands. I had hoped to get my pack below 10 kg/20 pounds, but ended up at 12.5 kg which really isn't that bad considering I carried food and half of the Nallo 2 tent. Two years ago I carried close to 15 kg/30 pounds a when I just stayed in huts (!). I tried to convince Anders to use one of my UL packs, but he wanted to use my old Hagløfs SEC 85 pack which is like 6 pounds empty, and ended up with a starting weight of something like 15-16 kg.

The great thing about Rondane is that it is easily accessible by train. 3.5 hours relaxing on the train + a short (but expensive) taxi ride brought us to the trail head "Spranget", situated on a plateau with breathtaking views of many of the 2000m + peaks that can be found in the Rondane area.

From Spranget there is a gravel road to "Rondvassbu", the norwegian tourist association's flagship hut in Rondane. We left the road a bit before Rondvassbu and took a right into the long valley that leads to another great hut, "Bjørnhollia". Anders was already feeling the effects of carrying a heavy pack, telling me (after I asked him) that he was having sore tighs.

I was surprised to see 5-10 other tents in the valley as we hiked along it - I only saw 1 in 2008. One of them was really well camouflaged - see if you can spot it in the picture below.

After a couple of hours we made camp, my first time with a tent in the mountains.

Not very camouflaged as you can see. My bright red Nallo is almost polluting the views, but would of course be easy to spot if we were to need assistance from search & rescue:). When I bought it from a guy on ebay he used a green model in his ad, so I was surprised to see the color red when I opened the package. Oh well, great tent anyways.

Our spot was nice, but was also the hunting grounds of eager mosquitoes. We covered ourselves up with the hoodies and wind shirts which helped, and dreamt of knowing some kind of magical spell that would get rid of all bugs in our vicinity (the word "kill" would be a central part of the chant). It was our fault of course, camping a little bit too close to some marshy grounds. Some pasta and Mintuu lifted our spirits though and we got a good nights sleep.

The next day we proceeded down the valley and did a pit stop at the hut "Bjørnhollia" where I stayed in 2008. We bought some beers and chips and glanced at the weather forecast which didn't look very promising. Rain and heavy wind was the what we could expect for the next 24 hours, and that turned out to be correct. While there we weighed our packs. Mine was 12.5kgs and Anders's was a shocking (for a lightweight hiker like me) 18.5! Later I moved some of his stuff to my pack and carried his some of the way.

After a couple of hours we set up camp in the valley close to the mountain "Høgronden" and proceeded to get all our stuff in the tent, and too cook some food before the rain started. We could both feel that it was on its way.

A lot of rain fell during the night and the wind was pretty heavy, but we were both snug and dry in the Nallo 2 which behaved like a champ. Anders had to get out during the night and proceeded to get his boots soaked when he took an alternative route to the stream across a marshy bit, but no problem. One can't really expect to have dry feet on a trip like this. Still, his feet were drier than mine in his Scarpa light hiking boots, but mine (Viking Tracker trail runners) were lighter so I think I got some extra energy and flexibility from that.

The morning greeted us with low clouds and a wet tent, the outer tent that is. The inner was bone dry which was to be expected. We got some food in us and then proceeded to first pack the inner into a dry bag, and then the wet outer. A great feature compared to many american tents where the inner has to be set up first and therefore taken down last. Anders managed to empty the Platy preserve of almost a bottle of Mintuu when I asked him to empty the water reservoirs. Blasphemy I say, blasphemy! :)

We spent the day hiking to the staffed hut "Nedre Dørålseter" which tooks us about 7 hours, first in rain and fog, and then in blazing sunshine. We met many hikers on the way, going in both directions, and both from Norway and other European countries like Germany and the Netherlands. It's easy to spot male hikers from abroad since almost no norwegian males use walking poles - I don't know why, maybe it's kind of a macho thing? Mostly old people use walking poles in Norway.

The (privately-owned) hut "Nedre Dørålseter" is great, a bit expensive (695 nok per person in a 2 man room), but worth I think. It was nice to dry our gear and to get a shower. These staffed huts with their great service, views and food are some of the best places to stay if you're ever in Norway. The DNT hut "Øvre Dørålseter" is close to "Nedre Dørålseter" if you want somewhat cheaper accomodation. I've never stayed there myself, but it's probably great too.

The next day offered superb weather and great hiking conditions.

We decided to take the boat over "Rondvatnet" back to Rondvassbu, and then then maybe to climb one of the nearby peaks the other day. It's normally only a tree hour walk to the place where the boat leaves, but I think we spent 4-5 hours after taking a wrong turn and then picking a leisurely pace to fully enjoy the views. Too often these kinds of trips become a race to reach the next destination. It was nice to have the time to take pictures and look around.

The valley which leads to the shore is beautiful with lots of great places to pitch a shelter. I highly recommend starting a trip in Rondane by taking the boat from Rondvassbu and then speding the first night in this valley. We were only 6 people in the boat, a german couple and a norwegian couple, and me and Anders. The ride took only 20 mins and then we were in the midst of lots of people at Rondvassbu. A cool lady I had been chatting with at Dørålseter told me that the hut had 230 visitors the previours night, which is quite a lot considering the normal capacity is around 150 I think.

The weather forecast for the day after the next was poor and Anders felt like returning to Oslo, so that's what we did, spending the night on the plain close to the trail head. It's so nice to have a tent and being able to spend the night wherever you want. In Norway we have something called "Allemannsretten" which basically means its allowed to camp everyhwere (within reason of course).

The train ride back to Oslo was kind of funny since we got seats in a cart that allowed animal passengers. Close to us we had a rabbit and a bird as travel companions :).

So, what did I learn, or confirm, on this trip?

a merino hoody + a very breathable windshirt (we both used the Beartooth hoody and Montane windshirts) is an unbeatable combo. We both used it to good effect. The hoody makes it easy to regulate the temperature with the thumb loops, neck zipper and the balaclava hood. I also used a montane wind pant that worked great, even though it is obviously very susceptible to abrasion.

brought too much food and messed up the "food plan" by bringing fresh bread, sausage and some boiled eggs - those lasted a good while! Got to stick to the plan, man.

no need to carry any water. I used my Kuuksa to drink from the streams

probably better to experience the mountains by staying in the huts and buying all food there. I don't think my pack would've weighed more than around 5 kg then. That would've been great. Would have missed the close to nature experience of wild camping though

The Mariposa Plus worked great once more. I got some sore shoulders after 7 hours of hiking, but I guess that is to be expected. The foam padding in my shoulder straps kept sliding down, so I think I'll put at stich in there to keep them put.

Could have left several pieces of gear at home, for instance the MLD rain mitts, the fleece gloves, the fleece hat and the Buff. The hoody and the wind shirt was sufficient.

Hiking in trail runners worked great, but I don't think it is for beginners. We met a danish couple who spent a minute on traversing a rocky stretch (we used 10 secs), using heavy boots, walking poles and 100% focus on the task at hand. They needed the time and the gear they had for sure. I did feel a bit more vulnerable in the trail runners and did experience some discomfort when stepping on pointy rocks, but I'm definitely sold on using them instead of traditional boots.

The Nallo 2 is too small for two hikers and gear, even if you're sharing with family :). Next time we'll bring solo tents.

I knew this already: the weather in the mountains changes fast. One moment you're in the sun in shorts and the next you have to put on all your layers too stay warm. I don't think I would've been very comfortable under a tarp during the night where we experienced rain and wind, but I have to try it at some point. The inner of the Nallo 2 was a welcome place to hang out after a long day of hiking. Outside it was blowing and raining, and we even saw some sleet, while in the tent it was 15 degrees celsius and snug. I still have a lot of respect for the mountains and would recommend taking a tent rather than a tarp if you've never been there before.

The Snow Peak GS-100 gas stove I brought didn't was too sensitive to wind. Even while cooking in the vestibule you could hear it being affected by it. Will probably bring a Caldera Cone alcohol setup next time.

Well, I think that's all i wanted to report. I hope you liked it. Take care.

15 comments:

Mariposa, great pack. Interesting to see how my new ULA Ohm stacks up against it!

Have you thought of using Paramo? Very adaptable for changeable weather and much less sweaty than conventional waterproofs. While they are heavier, you can wear them most of the time if it's not too hot.

It's a pretty amazing place. Love the close up of the mossies - hope they met their maker shortly thereafter. I agree to a certain extent about staying in huts and buying food there - it's a trade off between going as light (and comfortable as possible) and being reliant on others for your sustenance etc. I can see the benefits both ways, but I would very much like to do some trips next year in real wilderness where reliance on others is improbable. They take rather more planning, however! We're going to be buying food en route on the Tour du Mont Blanc, hence a 6kg pack weight for 11 days...

Thomas, brilliant report and stunning images. The Rondane were the mountains that made me fall in love with Norway on a holiday several years ago. They were the image in my head when I decided to move here. Utterly magnificent. With scenery like that you can understand why they had 230 visitors in the hytte!

21st August we fly to Geneva and then make our way to Les Houches to start on 22nd. Have already posted on various preparations and will be posting soon on the kit I am taking and why. It'll be an amazing mountain walk but my next trip will be something rather more remote.

Our (me and my wife) solution for Nallo's lack of space has been that in the evening we simply put rain covers on our packs and put them outside (instead of keeping them within the outer tent.If you don't mind extra weight, then the old rule about two people need tent that has been decided for three and three people need tent that has been designed for four applies.

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Thomas thanks for renewing old memories. Rondane, one of my most favourite places. Access, as you say is excellent with a direct train from the airport to Otta. A 4 day trip from Copenhagen to Rondane is always nagging in the back of my mind. Fortunately to date I have not travelled in one of the ¨animal carriages¨ but have noticed the diversity of pets on a train.

Yeah I'm looking into the logistics of getting there and the last bus is at about 15:00 I think. Can't get to Otta from Berlin by that hour in one go. Also last bus for the year is in September I think.

About Me

On a quest to learn skills needed to be comfortable and safe in the outdoors, and to figure out how I function when hiking long trips alone.

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life."